What's typically eaten for breakfast? Lunch? Dinner?

[orangejuice]

Hao Minna-san!
Could anyone tell me what's usually eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner in Japan nowadays?
Arigatou!

orangejuice

[yimija]

sorry, looks like japanese are eating... nothing...
not much success, yet.

I'm not really representative seeing that I eat in hotels, but I love scrambled eggs, bacon, chipolatas, griled tomato, orange juice, café, glass of milk toast & marmelade.

and now ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you a secret : after breakfast, I'll never pretend to be japanese...

[bezz]

Originally Posted by orangejuice

Could anyone tell me what's usually eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner in Japan nowadays?

A nice pic of typical traditional Japanese breakfast here:



From right: miso soup, horse mackerel "himono" (cut open fresh, soaked in salt water and half-dried for a night, then grilled. So very tasty.)
The tiny plate in the middle has soy dip for the paper-thin dried nori seaweed cuts, and pickles there on the left of the rice bowl too.

They might add tiny plates of "advanced" ingredients like raw egg york which is meant to be half-done in the steamy rice bowl, or perhaps natto in addition too.

[epigene]

I think it's hard to say what's "typically eaten" in Japan today. It really varies by generation.

Most Japanese who eat a traditional breakfast like that are either elderly or health-conscious people. Many young people don't go for that kind and prefer Western style (toast, bacon & eggs and maybe some salad). Breakfast cereals aren't that popular, though available. Young, working adults are inclined to stay awake late at night and therefore don't have much time for breakfast. They get conbini breakfast or none at all.

Lunch tend to be quick, too. (Conbini lunches for workers and students and packed lunch prepared by mothers for students who can't get cafeteria food.) People who can afford to go to restaurants probably eat soba noodles or set meals (young women preferring probably Western like spaghetti and men, mostly middle-aged, choosing Japanese-style set meal of fried fish, hamburger, etc. with veggies, rice & miso soup).

Supper is most varied ranging from Western to Chinese and Japanese--I can't list all the common meals eaten.

Hope it gives you an idea...

[EdZiomek]

Sometimes I dream I could be a millionaire...

If only I could find a tasty breakfast snack from an Asian culture, that "performs" like a Danish or doughnut, fills the stomach with nutritional elements, (not sugared, not fried, a crunchy or chewy vegetarian with maybe a brown rice or seaweed doughy covering), close-to-zero calories, and then get America to change their terrible breakfast eating patterns.

America is turning into a diabetic nightmare eating frenzy... sugar, sugar, sugar, and I resemble those remarks... I am happy to say I lost 45 pounds, with another 10 to go.

But I would like any suggestions from JREF... PS... my Colombian wife has something called an "Empinada", which comes very close to what I am talking about... Any clues from Japan or other cultures?

What can replace the doughnut?

[misa.j]

EdZiomek,
You might like "Taiyaki"; it doesn't have cheese or butter like empanada does, but it is doughy, sweet and not fatty.


It's a fish shaped cake made with flour and red bean paste.

[EdZiomek]

Can the insides be alternated, with things like figs and prunes and dates and avocado? You know how the bagel, delicious as it is, takes about 3 or 5 minutes to eat? Ideally, this Taiyaki would take a bit of time to consume... sort of like a burrito "eating time".

Also, inJapan, do they have anything like a "Soy rope" or "Rice string mesh"... I mean a manufactured food which gives the sensation of chewiness? For example, if you leave a doughnut in your mouth, chances are that it will almost disolve without chewing. A bagel takes 2-4 minutes to consume, because it is chewy and can't be wolfed down. You could eat 6 ghastly doughnuts in the same time it takes to eat 1 bagel.

I see in the near future food manufacturers creating a soy/rice mesh food, sewn together like criss-cross burlap material, maybe the size of a bagel, with the consistency of a bagel/burrito, stuffed with various good-for-you foods.

Sincerely, America is unhealthy and way overweight, in my estimation, and I am one of them!

Maybe Taiyaki is the food. Thank you for your input.

[bezz]

Originally Posted by epigene

Most Japanese who eat a traditional breakfast like that are either elderly or health-conscious people.

Traditional Japanese meals before unhealthy tonkatsu, ramen, burger and so forth got introduced there, used to look like:


Left: Porridge with sesven herbs, simmered deep-fried tofu and Chinese cabbage, salted plum, grilled cod fillet marinated in miso, pickles
Right: Rice, sake lee soup, grilled Spanish mackerel fillet in sweet yuan marinade, simmered takuan pickles, spinach dressed in soy broth


Left: White rice, simmered yellowtail teriyaki fillet, roasted pink shrimp bits, finely-diced coltsfoot flower stalk (for topping on rice before pouring tea,) simmered coltsfoot stalk and spongy frozen tofu
Right: Rice, clear soup with egg yolk tofu and tumip flower, pickles, simmered rockfish


Left: Rice, veggie miso soup, skipjack (bonito) tataki (seared sasimi) with dip, warm asparagus and spikenard salad on warm yolk and vinegar sauce.
Right: Green pea rice, tofu miso soup, carrot and burdock kakiage, chicken simmered in soy broth

[bezz]

Left: Rice, clear soup with dredged pike conger and watershield garnished with yuzu lime peel, simmered herring and eggplant with shredded ginger garnish, finely-diced pickles with nori and roasted sesame seeds dressed with soy
Right: Finely-diced pickles on rice, sea bass clear soup, vinegared myoga ginger, deep fried string beans wrapped in perilla leaf, grilled sea bass neck



Left: Rice, egg-drop clear soup with myoga ginger, squid sashimi, simmered pumpkin, grilled saury
Right: Rice, autumn veggie miso soup, pickles, dredged mackerel fillet deep-fried and simmered topped with grated daikon, chestnut simmered in bonito broth


Left: Rice, root veggie miso soup, chrysanthemum petal with walnut sauce, shredded daikon radish cole slaw (just salt) and breaded deep-fried oyster
Right: Grilled salted-yellowtail, simmered daikon, veggie soup

[nice gaijin]

I normally have toast and a cup of coffee. Today I had leftover oden and some tea.

[JTalker]

I absolutely love Japanese food, but I must say that the breakfasts leave a little to be desired. Fish and rice and soup for breakfast? That's what I had for dinner... and lunch. Where are the pancakes, waffles, hash browns, Coco Puffs, steak and eggs, sausages, bacons, bagels, omlettes, breakfast burritos, Grand Slams, Super Slams, etc. ?

[MeAndroo]

Originally Posted by JTalker

I absolutely love Japanese food, but I must say that the breakfasts leave a little to be desired. Fish and rice and soup for breakfast? That's what I had for dinner... and lunch. Where are the pancakes, waffles, hash browns, Coco Puffs, steak and eggs, sausages, bacons, bagels, omlettes, breakfast burritos, Grand Slams, Super Slams, etc. ?

There's a lot of Denny's in Japan...

This is one of the reasons Americans are fatter than Japanese.

I regularly had leftovers from the night before for breakfast, usually because I told my host mom I didn't care. This could range from the afore-mentioned oden to curry (which is great for hangovers, but still odd at 7 am). A typical breakfast for me was miso soup, rice, an egg, maybe a small bit of meat, and some veggies/pickles. I also regularly received small sandwiches with egg, veggies and meat in them if I didn't have time to sit and eat.

When I was faring for myself, I loved hitting a bakery for breakfast. A good one would have 40 different breads, and one or two combined with some juice was good enough to get me to lunch.

[bezz]

Rice, sprout clear soup, boiled&dressed field mustard with shaved bonito garnish, boiled pork with vinegar&sesame-flavored miso sauce, simmered soybeans and kombu kelp


Rice, Chinese cabbage miso soup, savory wakame tamago-yaki slices, pan-fried green asparagus and carrot, cut apple.


Salmon rice with shredded egg and turnip greens, potato and geeen peas simmered in dashi broth and sugar, string beans with honewort herb with soy dressing and almond garnish, yogurt-topped orange slices.


Rice, clear soup with tofu, turnip coleslaw with just vinegar and salt, lean beef&pork cabbage roll simmered in dashi&soy broth, fried-then-simmered kombu kelp with burdock, carrot and "abura-age" fried tofu.


Rice, chicken breast clear soup with paprika and sprouts, soy-flavored grilled codfish fillet with white scallion shaving garnish, vinegared cucumber and celery, tofu simmered/fried with dried shiitake mushroom and bamboo shoot.


Rice, gluten ball miso soup, panfried field mustard with broth topped with bonito shaving, tofu simmered in broth&soy with shimeji mushroom and grated daikon radish, grapefruit


Hijiki seaweed rice (with carrot,) Asiatic clam miso soup, deep-fried tofu simmered with turnip, swordfish teriyaki, field mustard dressed with umeboshi sauce.


Rice, taro&wakame miso soup, dried daikon radish simmered in dashi broth, simmered spinach&egg, mikan orange.


Rice, veggie clear soup, vingared cucumber and agar savory gello, soy-flavored fried lean beef and lever with shiitake mushroom and lettuce ginger and long onion, "hiyayakko" chilled tofu with soy, perilla leaf, sprouts, scallion and radish.

[Carrie]

Other than the fact that fish is eaten for a traditional Japanese breakfast, I was also surprised to find fried chicken on a breakfast menu in Japan--Once I thought about it, there is no logical reason to not eat chicken or fish for breakfast, but it still seems so strange. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that if you live in Japan by yourself--you can eat whatever you please for breakfast because no one is there to know--I often had pancakes. Just a suggestion--if you will be with a family and cannot adjust to the strange breakfast flavors of miso and fish--you could buy some brown sugar and milk to mix it with the rice that is alwasy served--it is very good for a western sweet tooth--

[Qutiepie]

Konichiwa .....bezz-san



Do you make home delivery,those pictured meals look deliciously healthy ( drool ) ?

[yukio_michael]

I think there is a big difference as to what is considered a "traditional" Japanese breakfast in Japan now, and what is ACTUALLY eaten for breakfast by people in Japan... two different things right there.

[craftsman]

Let me add to yukio_michael's comment... with the fact that according to the White Paper on Dietary Education released last week, 10.5% of Japanese typically eat absolutely nothing for breakfast. Yum. Anyone for seconds?

[yukio_michael]

Originally Posted by craftsman

Let me add to yukio_michael's comment... with the fact that according to the White Paper on Dietary Education released last week, 10.5% of Japanese typically eat absolutely nothing for breakfast. Yum. Anyone for seconds?

Maybe that's the reason for all of those "engergy" drink advertisements on television... The ones where the hapless Salaryman goes to the chemist to procure this miracle elixir and then rockets off to work for Osaka Manufacturing Concern...?

[nice gaijin]

Originally Posted by craftsman

Let me add to yukio_michael's comment... with the fact that according to the White Paper on Dietary Education released last week, 10.5% of Japanese typically eat absolutely nothing for breakfast. Yum. Anyone for seconds?

In that case, I should be happy when I only have enough time for a cup of coffee and a pad of butter!

[bezz]

Rice, abura-age and cabbage miso soup, simmered pumpkin and snow pea, "onsen" style poached egg, cut orange.


Rice, wakame miso soup, simmered tofu and field mustard with egg, boiled shirasu mixed with grated daikon and mitsuba, kiwi fruit.


Rice, fried/simmered daikon and carrot with sprout in starch-thickened clear soup, field mustard and enoki mushroom dressed with mustard-flavored soy, panfried chicken and ginger simmered with taro, carrot and snow pea, vinegared Chinese surf clam with cucumber and spikenard.


Rice, abura-age and daikon miso soup, pan-fried hampen fish cake with cheese, fried/simmered baby bok choy and carrot with shichimi red pepper flavor, cut apple.


Rice, taro and scallion miso soup, shirasu with grated daikon, fried egg on shredded cabbage bed, grapefruit.


Rice, abura-age and snowpea miso soup, fried chicken liver and burdock simmererd with ginger, shredded yam in vinegar/dashi dressing and nori garnish, mikan Mandarin.


Rice, gluten ball clear soup, grilled horse mackerel, crushed tofu stirfried with green onion and carrot then simmered in dried shiitake broth and egg, spinach dressed in soy/broth garnished with nori.


Rice, turnip root&leaf miso soup, stirfried cabbage with carrot and green pepper (just salt&pepper,) shiitake scrambled egg, grapefruit with yogurt.


Rice, simmered tofu and field mustard with extra bonito shaving, pomfret fillet marinated in white miso then grilled, stringbean dressed with sesame sauce, cut apple.

[Goldiegirl]

They eat the same food for all the meals. To my taste that's what it seemed like. Salty, not sweet and consisting of rice, some form of noodle, vegetables and tofu...for the non-vegetarians add some fish. As a westerner I felt that I ate dinner, dinner and then dinner. Don't get me wrong I loved the food, well exccept for this incredibly gooey, squishy rice cake thing that was like trying to swallow silly putty, chewing gum and caulk, but I couldn't actually tell the difference between the meals.

[*chelly~panda*]

hey maybe its just my nieviety showing though but um how would you eat the bigger kinds of food. like the fish for example.

[Goldiegirl]

They use their chopsticks and kind pull apart the fish. I also noticed that most food is cut into bite size pieces, I am assuming that is done because they use chopsticks.

[Supervin]

This thread makes me sooo hungry... I've yet to try the traditional Japanese breakfast. I love rice in the morning.

[Nicky]

Once I become a millionaire I'm going to hire someone to make me every dish posted in this thread. They all look tasty.